Dates may change a day either way to allow us to get the best flights available.

 

Read the reports using navigation in the left column

 

 

Norway                                    03rd -10th May  2008                                Full

 

Finland                                    12th -18th May 2008                                  Full

 

Latvia                                       25th -30th May 2008                                 Full

 

Iceland                                     31st May – 6th June 2008                        Full

 

Slovakia Krajina                      02nd -08th June 2008                               Full 

 

Bulgaria                                   04th 12th July 2008                                  Full

 

Slovenia                                  06th -12th July 2008                                  Full

 

Poland                                     14th -20th July 2008                                 Full

 

Germany                                16th -22nd July 2008                                 Full

 

Slovakia Ipel Union                  29th August – 05th September 2008         Full

Please download the attached file and return by mail or e mail.

The main impression of the countryside is of huge, prairie-like fields, full of maize, sunflowers and oilseed rape; this is a result of the collective farms established by the communist authorities. After the collapse of communism these farms were returned to the landlords, and many have become owned by agribusiness firms and Danish pig farms. The villages are composed of traditional houses, close together but each with a long strip of garden or smallholding; everyone seems to grow vegetables and grapevines. Apple trees everywhere loaded with fruit; Walnut trees also abundant, even planted as avenues along roads, and we saw several people filling bags with the nuts….    more »

The Ipel Union is a Non Governmental Organisation funded in December 1992 that covers the Ipel River’s catchment area, two thirds of which lies in Southern Slovakia while the other third lies in Northern Hungary. The total area amounts to 5,100 square kilometres. The mission of the Ipel Union is to conserve and revitalise the natural, cultural and environmental heritage of the Ipel Valley. The landscape of the Ipel Valley is very characteristic and includes various types of wetland habitats, swamps and meadows, alluvial forest (mainly Turkey Oak) and grazing fields. The revitalisation of the wetland habitats in the watershed area, with particular attention to the Poiplie Ramsar Site, is one of the main goals of the Ipel Union, following the canalisation of the Ipel River in the 70s and early 80s and the subsequent loss of habitats. The land use of the area is mixed, with predominant practices being agriculture and forestry, with very little industry. The forestry cover of Slovakia is 40% of the total land surface, while Hungary’s 30% - these percentages are quite high when compared to the UK forestry cover (12%) but in line with the European average woodiness, which is 36%.    more »

"I would state that for me this exchange was a great success. Not only did we get exposed to different types of thinking in terms of ecosystem management but we saw how Bulgaria is ahead of the UK in some ways in protected management."   more »

Forest National Parks Scheduled species in Scotland are ten per Euro in Finland! Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Black and Red-throated divers, Osprey, White-tailed Eagle. we saw them all and with some ease in and around the Finnish National Parks – thanks in no small part to the efforts of our knowledgeable and energetic guides for the week, Suvi Paukku and Tomi Honkavaara. What a wonderful opportunity this was. I am extremely grateful for having been given the chance to see a part of the world I might never have otherwise and which I now know I must visit again! Our guides and hosts Tomi Honkavaara and Suvi Paukku were most indulgent of our wants and put together a superb tour covering a wide cross section of environmental issues – from dry toilets to high tech atmospheric monitoring at the SMEAR II station (see http://www.atm.helsinki.fi/SMEAR/index.php?action=4 ) for more details). In our spare moments, they drove us round National Parks galore and we got to see wildlife we would have had to travel a long way to see in the UK: from Labrador Tea to Marsh Harriers. I saw my first Herb Paris in Finland - something I have been looking for in long-lost Scottish locations for years (I finally tracked some down in flower back here on Skye on my return though) and dare I admit it, my first Betula nana (OK, I know it grows on Ben Wyvis – I have just never got around to going there... We saw Common Crane in their hundreds, still on migration north to breed. In the evenings we rowed on the lake and (some of us…) swam there too after the inevitable sauna. Superb! I only hope that if those Fins ever come to see what Scotland has to offer, we can do them as proud.    more »

A group of Scottish wildlife and fishery managers recently visited Norway on a trip organised by the Cairngorms National Park Authority. The objectives of the trip were to improve understanding and relations between representatives of Scottish wildlife management interests. to examine and debate Norwegian wildlife management issues and consider lessons for Scotland where appropriate. The trip was funded under the EU Nature Exchange programme which is managed in Scotland by Archnetwork. The group agreed the trip was a high quality experience which facilitated good discussion in a neutral location. All agreed it did improve relations and understanding.    more »

I work as an Area Officer for Scottish Natural Heritage covering part of the Aberdeenshire area. My job involves providing advice to other organisations and agencies about protected sites and species and the legislation relating to them. I was therefore particularly interested to learn how Bulgaria is approaching the Natura legislation. I also help to monitor and manage different protected sites, including oak woodlands, wetlands, species rich grasslands, and upland sites. I work with landowners of protected sites and try to develop management plans in order to maintain the interest of the site. In particular I am involved in managing an oak woodland site so I was interested to see what pressures there are on woodland sites in Bulgaria and how these is managed.    more »

Slovenia is a country of high biodiversity, with the limestone Karst geology and traditional farming methods hosting a wealth of flora and associated wildlife. However, as increasing numbers of a young people opt for city-based employment, read more >>>>>   more »

The Nature Exchange programme I chose to take part in was based in eastern Slovakia. The program was promoted by ARCH with Krajina being our host company based in Slovakia. Our guide for the trip was Krajina’s Miroslav Knezo. The programme for the week’s exchange involved visiting a number of sites across the region, looking at forestry management and discussing with forest researchers and state foresters their management strategies for working within National Parks and Scenic Areas.    more »

Eagerly awaited report from the Renewables Group that went to Germany.

This is a PDF file. Click on the attachment link below

 

A Combined Report in low resolution PDF is attached

Thanks to EUCC-Poland for hosting our visit, in particular Pawel Terefenko and Rafal Benedyczak for giving up a week of their time to show us around so many fantastic places. They worked tirelessly and with great humour to make our trip the success it was. They looked after us really well and their organisational skills were very impressive to keep the team on time , well fed and fully informed! Pawels translations were invaluable and his knowledge of Polish history greatly added to our understanding of issues that surround land use in Poland. We were very lucky to have such good guides and it was great to get to know them.

Click on the attachment link below to read our report